


Tenderness

by canniclown



Series: In My Heart, In My Head [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cannibal AU, Cheating, Description of blood, Graphic Depictions of Incest, M/M, Unhealthy Relationships, mentions of cannibalism, niles is dumb i hate him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-31 02:29:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21050135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canniclown/pseuds/canniclown
Summary: Tina arranges for a weekend trip out on the lake. Unfortunately, Gavin invites his boyfriend, and his potential brother-in-law.





	Tenderness

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy! Y'all know the drill by now. This work contains graphic depictions of incest, unhealthy relationships and cheating (No actual cannibalism in this one, just mentions of it.) Please don't read this if any of those things aren't your jam. I am not responsible for how this is interpreted, you have been warned.
> 
> This is something I briefly mentioned on twitter a loooong time ago. I just wanted Connor Elias to interact with Tina (and for him and Niles to do some not-so-sneaky sneaking around Gavin.) This is set sometime before the first work in this series, bury a friend (before Connor meets Hank), and you should probably read that before diving into this.
> 
> Shout out to Moon, for editing this (and for informing me that northern USA has lakes, not salt water beaches. I am but a dumb Floridian plz forgive me.) You can find me on twitter @cannibalspaghet. HMU if you want in on the cannibal au group chat.

_ Tell me, did you fall in at first glance? Do you think you'll take a chance? Do you think on the weekend I could know?  _

  
  
  
  


The sun shines bright through the windshield, a rarity in Detroit. Days like this, sunny, free of rain and haze, deserve to be taken advantage of. To spend the day out of the office, out of the usual crime scenes, away from the gaggle of cops that smell too heavily of cigarettes to be good company, is something that must be exploited. 

Tina smiles, despite the way the sun shines through her sunglasses, burning her eyes. Her thumbs drum against the steering wheel, in time to the dumb pop song on the radio. This is a good day. She’s determined to enjoy herself, despite how much she’s dreading the company.

She glances at Gavin, in the passenger seat beside her, scrolling through something on his phone. “That looks like work, Gav.”

“Results came back from the lab,” Gavin mumbles, not looking up. “I gotta make sure that-”

Tina holds her hand out, palm up. “No work today.” Begrudgingly, Gavin sets his phone in her hand, and they continue to ride in relative silence.

He can be like that sometimes. Too focused on work to be any fun to hang around. Gavin needs a day off, maybe even more than Tina does.

Eventually, they arrive at their destination, the reason they were heading this way in the first place. Tina isn’t… excited about this part, necessarily, but she knows it’s important for Gavin.

In order for them to relax, she suggested that Gavin invite his boyfriend.

But, of course, Tina doesn’t get along well with the boyfriend. Just saying it sounds dumb. Gavin’s  _ boyfriend.  _ Pretentious. Part of Tina misses the good old days, when she and Gavin could go get shitfaced with the rest of the club scene, where she could hookup with random girls while Gavin vigorously denied any advancements made towards him.

He kept up the straight guy act for so long. It’s almost weird to see Gavin act more like himself. To be comfortable talking about his boyfriend and their relationship. They’ve been friends and partners for what feels like forever, but Gavin still withholds parts of himself from her. Maybe it’s the Catholic Italian upbringing.

She puts the car in park, removing her sunglasses to admire the house, the front porch, the bushes in front of it. Tina can tell through the fence that there’s a pool in the backyard. Two other cars are in the driveway, and Tina turns to look at Gavin.

Despite Tina being nervous about spending a long period of time around Gavin’s boyfriend, Gavin is nervous for another reason.

He’s terrified of his boyfriend’s brother.

“Gav, you okay?” Tina asks, pressing her hand over his.

“I will be,” Gavin sighs, looking out the windshield at the house. His gaze catches on a lone flower, growing through the mulch lining the sidewalk. “I’m just…” He pauses. “Nevermind.”

Tina opens her mouth to pry a little further, but Gavin opens the car door, unbuckling his seatbelt and hopping out onto the pavement. The front door of the house opens, and Tina joins him in the driveway.

Niles, Gavin’s aforementioned boyfriend, steps onto the porch. He’s wearing a tank top, exposing his arms; large, muscular, heavily tattooed. He descends the steps, leaving the door open to make his way over to greet them.

He’s got a good five or six inches on Gavin, and has to stoop to reach his mouth for a kiss. When he pulls back, he sighs, smiling politely. “Hey, Tina.”

“Hey.”

When Tina and Gavin got assigned to The Butcher case, they had no leads. Tina went through every old homicide case in the entire state of Michigan after months of coming up dry, just to see if any victims were still alive. This is how she discovered that Niles and his brother were kidnapped by their godfather when they were ten and forced to watch their parents die.

When she went undercover to get information out of Niles, she quickly realized he wasn’t attracted to women, and begged Gavin to meet with him. Gavin returned without new clues that might be linked to the disappearances, and instead, a new boyfriend.

Though Niles forgave Gavin for their strange meeting, he hasn’t quite forgiven Tina, nor has she completely dismissed him as a suspect, however, neither will admit it in front of Gavin.

They play nice, for Gavin’s sake.

Now, Niles’ brother is a different story entirely. Tina has never met him, but according to Gavin, He’s scary. Which seems unreasonable to Tina since Niles is basically just a dark and brooding beefcake. How anyone can be scarier than a tower of muscle and piercings isn’t really something Tina wants to imagine.

The front door shuts, but Tina keeps her eyes on Niles. Gavin mumbles something, warranting Niles to soothe him, placing a large hand on his shoulder. 

Gavin invited the brother, too, for reasons Tina doesn’t quite understand. If he’s so afraid, why would he even bother?

To Tina’s absolute surprise, Connor Elias is tiny. Like, teeny tiny. He’s tall, sure, around Niles’ massive height, but he’s gangly, thin. His face is more rounded and soft, when compared to Niles’ harsh jawline and sharp cheekbones. He’s wearing glasses, circular, and way too big for him. He struggles with the bag slung over his shoulder. Hmm. Not scary at all.

Gavin is such a bitch.

“Hey, Gavin,” His voice isn’t as deep either. He seems nice, even. “And, uh, Tina, right?”

Tina smiles, reaching out to take his hand, should he offer it. Surprisingly, he goes straight for a hug, squeezing a little tight. “Oh, yeah, hey.”

Connor pulls back, smiling wide. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” He looks in between her and Gavin, brown eyes bright in the light of day. “This should be fun! I haven’t been to a real beach in ages.”

If Tina’s honest, she hasn’t either. She says as much before they all get back in Tina’s car, out of the sun for now. Gavin’s hands are shaky in his lap. Tina tries to distract him a bit by talking to fill the silence. She asks Connor questions as she drives, watching him through the rear view mirror. “So, Connor, what do you do for work?”

“Honestly, I work at Red Lobster,” Connor laughs. It’s cute, if she’s being real about it. What a strange little guy. “I dropped out of med school to be an artist, and it didn’t really work out in my favor.” He smiles, leaning against the side window. “So… A beach house, huh?”

Tina nods. “Yeah! It’s more like… a lake house, really. It’s my parents’. They’re in Florida for the summer, so they’re letting me borrow it. The weather hasn’t been nice enough to go until now.”

“Well, this’ll be nice! I’m excited.” 

To Tina’s dismay, they fall into an easy silence, anyway. She turns up the radio, drumming her thumbs on the steering wheel once more.

The lake house is far out, and takes several hours to make it there. It’s mostly boring, and Tina’s excitement dies down into the subtle lull of a road trip. When she pulls over for gas, Gavin volunteers to drive the rest of the way, and somehow Tina ends up in the backseat with Connor.

He’s still not scary, up close, so Tina really doesn’t get what Gavin’s deal is. He keeps glancing over his shoulder at him, then at Niles for reassurance. They’re holding hands now, and Tina can’t stop herself from frowning.

Eventually, Connor yawns, stretching his legs a little. His knee bumps Tina’s. He doesn’t apologize. “So, would either of you ever try human flesh?”

Gavin swerves, gasping and immediately righting the car on the highway. A beat passes, and Niles runs his hand down Gavin’s arm to calm him, before turning to look over his shoulder. His tone is stern. “Connor Elias.”

“What?” Connor grins, mischievous. “I’m  _ bored.  _ Let me ask some hypotheticals, Ni. It’s not like any of us would actually resort to cannibalism.”

_ “Watch it,”  _ Niles snaps. Connor speaks over him.

“I’m serious, though,” Connor taps his chin, thinking. “If like, Gavin crashed the car and we ended up stranded somewhere, who would we eat first?” He takes another moment to think, really planning out an answer. “I vote Gavin.”

No one answers him, or plays his game, so Tina tries to at least maybe make Gavin feel better. Maybe if she seems like she’s enjoying herself, Gavin will ease up a bit. “I could never eat Gavin. He’d probably taste bad.”

“Oh?” Connor turns to her, eyebrow raised. “Who, then?”

Tina thinks, then, “Niles, obviously. He’s the biggest here, he’d last us longer.”

Connor’s eyes narrow, an action that Tina watches closely. Years of interrogations have taught her how to read people. Something about her answer made him jealous.

It’s quiet again for awhile. Niles leans over to whisper something to Gavin. Connor’s smile seems strained. “Fine, I’ll change the subject. How often do you guys suck cock?”

Tina almost chokes. Maybe Gavin’s fear of this guy stems from his lack of filter. Or general embarrassment. “Connor,” Niles hisses, leaning back against the headrest and shutting his eyes. “Quit it.”

“I’m just  _ asking.” _

“Well, stop. It’s weird.”

“I’m not-”

“Actually,” Tina wants to figure Connor out. She’ll buy into it, if he wants to ask intrusive things. “I’m a lesbian. So, I haven't, ever.”

Connor watches her again, the light from the window shining through his giant glasses. “Oh. I’m, uh… Sorry to hear that.”

“What is  _ that  _ supposed to mean?” Tina can’t help but get defensive. 

Shrugging, Connor picks at the hem of his shorts, exposing more of his pale, tiny thigh. “Women are hard to date.”

Tina blinks, a little taken aback. It’s been awhile since she’s felt the need to defend her sexuality. Everyone at work is cool about it, and she’s used to it being normal. “Yeah, if you’re a man, maybe. I happen to love women, and haven’t had any problem dating one. Maybe you’re the problem.”

Connor’s shoulders straighten. He’s still smiling. Creepy. “I’ve dated plenty of women. It’s just… men are better, anyway.”

“Um,” Tina’s eye twitches. She likes Connor less and less by the second. “Have you even tasted pussy? It’s delicious.”

“Oh my god, Teen,” Gavin chokes out, knuckles white on the steering wheel. “Can you guys chill?”

It’s startling when Connor laughs. It’s coy, shy almost. Cunning. “I have, actually. Cock is just tastier,” He laughs again, nose scrunching beneath his glasses. “More filling, too.”

Tina holds her ground, not really sure why they’re even having this conversation. “Look, Dude, if you’ve got some sort of problem with me-”

Connor sighs, leaning back in his seat again. “Oh, I’ve got a lot of problems. And, trust me, Sweetheart, you’re not one of them.”

“Sweetheart?” Tina repeats, growling. “Listen, Asshole, I will throw your twink ass out of the car.”

“Do it,” Connor teases her, sticking his tongue out. “You won’t.”

Niles turns around in his seat, blue eyes piercing. “Concon. That’s enough.” 

Connor folds his arms. Looks out the window. Hmm.

“God,” Niles moves back, shutting his eyes and taking Gavin’s hand again. “I can’t catch a break, Gav.” 

Gavin doesn’t answer, and Niles tries to speak to Connor again, keeping his voice low, but Connor pouts in return. He keeps his eyes glued to the window.

Huh. Maybe Gavin was right to be nervous. This is an awkward level of tension that Tina definitely wasn’t expecting.

The rest of the ride is quiet. It’s late when they finally get to the beach house, the sun will set soon. Tina unpacks the car, grabbing her bag and the cooler before ascending the wooden porch steps and inhaling the fresh air. Inside, the house is light, the furniture white with accents of teal, little beach themed trinkets scattered about. 

She sets the stuff down, and drags Gavin out to the back porch.

They watch the sunset there, all leaning on the railing. Whatever tension eases up just a little, the sun slowly disappearing over the horizon. It’s peaceful. It’s been awhile since Tina has had some quality time outside. Sun gone, and lanterns lit, Tina starts rummaging through the cooler, getting burger patties and condiments, enough for a proper barbecue.

Gavin grabs a stack of plates from the cabinet, and a bluetooth speaker from the living room. Yeah, Gavin gets it. They’re going to have fun.

Tina struggles with the grill, grumbling about being unable to get the coals to light until Niles helps. He grabs paper towels from the kitchen, shoving them near the coals and hitting them with a lighter. She thanks him, and he smiles. Tina can’t really remember the last time she genuinely thanked Niles for anything.

Maybe this was what they needed. A little trip to make them work out their differences, for Gavin.

When she steps back from the grill, grabbing one of the plates of uncooked burgers, she catches sight of Gavin, grin shining bright even in the low light from the lanterns. He knows it’s working, too. 

Connor leans in the doorway, fingers tapping against the sliding glass frame. “You know, Niles and I are-”

Tina holds up the burger plate over her shoulder so he can see it, then starts adding them to the grill. “These are veggie burgers. I’ll cook the other ones afterwards.”

Though she doesn’t see it, she can hear Connor’s footsteps as he slinks back inside. Good. 

Just to impress Gavin by how  _ civil _ she can be, Tina asks Niles about work. He always listens when the three of them are out to dinner and Gavin and Tina bitch about a particularly nasty case, so she might as well pretend to be interested in his life, too.

“Oh. Well,” Niles shrugs. “It’s the same, I suppose. My assistant has started screening my gift baskets.”

“Why?”

“She’s… skeptical about their contents. Apparently, the women in other sections have taken a liking to me since word got out about Gavin. He came to have lunch with me, and now they all keep sending me chocolates and… Other things they think I might like.”

Tina laughs, genuinely laughs. She can practically feel the weight being lifted from Gavin’s shoulders as he smiles. It’s almost sad to see him like this, the implication that he’s usually so worried and upset. Tina sort of feels bad about the cold shoulder she’s been giving Niles.

Whatever. That’s in the past, now. She silently vows to make it up to Gavin by being as friendly as she can be, no matter how much it pains her.

“What kind of stuff do they send?” She leans back against the grill, folding her arms as the food cooks behind her. “Anything worth noting?”

“Lubricant, mostly.”

Tina coughs, Gavin laughs, Niles chuckles, too. 

Tina likes how easy this feels.

Gavin does too, apparently. He stands when Niles disappears inside to find Connor, and get a few beers. Gavin leans over the grill as Tina takes the veggie burgers off, dropping the real ones down. “This is nice.”

“It is! It’s great to get out of the city, to see the lake.” Tina smiles. “I’m having fun.” Gavin looks like he wants to ask something, and when he doesn’t, she sighs. “You know, Niles isn’t half bad.”

“Yeah?” Gavin grins again. “I’m… I’m really happy you guys are gettin’ along.” He looks over his shoulder, as if checking to make sure Niles is still out of earshot. “I think he’s the one, Teen.”

_ “What?” _

“I love him. Like, I really do,” Gavin bounces on his feet, anxious. “I keep havin’ to clear out my search history because I’ve been lookin’ at rings.”

Tina blinks at him, eyes wide. Gavin Reed. Gavin fucking Reed, looking at engagement rings. Holy shit.

“Holy shit.” 

Tina doesn’t hide her surprise.

“I know!” Gavin runs a hand through his beard, pulling on the ends. “It’s friggin’ nuts, right? But, I don’t know. It feels right. Everythin’ is so easy between us, and he’s just- He’s perfect for me, Teen. He’s smart and funny, and he’s so hot, I mean, God…” He trails off, looking out at the water. “He loves me, too. I wanna ask him as soon as I can, but… Connor hates me. That’s why I invited him, too. So, maybe if you and Ni got on well, I could maybe… I don’t know, get closer to him? Just so he’ll be okay with me and Ni.”

Oh. That makes sense, Tina supposes. “Is that why you’re so scared of Connor? Because you’re trying to propose?”

“No, that’s not why.”

“Then, why?” Gavin looks over his shoulder again. “He’s not intimidating at all, I don’t get it.”

“He… he can be.” He leaves it at that. Tina frowns, wanting to ask more questions, but Niles returns with two bottles in each of his massive hands. Connor trails behind him, face bright red, and quickly sits at the table.

Weird.

They laugh over dinner, and Tina tries really hard to include Connor, too, but he refuses to participate. He sits close to Niles, occasionally watching Gavin with wide eyes. His leg bounces under the table, but no one comments on it, instead focusing on the conversation unfolding around them.

Tina raises her beer, waving it at Niles. “I never pegged you for a weeb.”

Niles shrugs, reaching over to poke at the abandoned tomato on his plate. “I watched Sailor Moon when I was a kid, and it just stuck with me, I guess. Maybe it’s the animation style.”

“Most weebs I know only watch anime for the hot ladies,” Tina smirks. “That’s why I’d watch it, anyway.”

“Well, I can assure you, it is definitely not for the  _ hot ladies,”  _ When Niles repeats it, it sounds taboo. What a gay. “It’s just something I like, I don’t know.”

Gavin smiles. “I keep tryin’ to watch some so I’ll understand what the appeal is, but he won’t let me watch ‘em in English.”

“Dubbed anime is for idiots.”

“Ni, you know I can’t read fast enough to keep up with the subtitles!”

Gavin glances over at Connor, and Niles follows his gaze, trying to get him involved somehow. It’s nice that they’re trying, but Tina doesn’t get the point. If he’s content to pout, why not just let him? “Connor Elias only likes Kitchen Nightmares.”

He doesn’t notice that they’re talking about him. Niles nudges Connor’s leg with his foot. “Hmm?” Niles repeats himself. “Oh, yeah. And, Masterchef, I guess.”

“Is it just Gordon Ramsay?” Gavin asks, leaning forward on his elbow. “Or, do you like other chefs too. Or, ooh- What about Bar Rescue? I love Jon Taffer.” 

Connor watches him for a solid minute. God, Tina is starting to understand Gavin’s fear. He’s just weird. It’s not even scary, he’s tiny. Tina could literally snap him in half like a toothpick. Connor is weird, like there’s something wrong with him. Tina can’t quite place what it is, but she imagines it’s got something to do with having been kidnapped as a child.

But, on the other hand, Niles isn’t weird like that. Sure, Niles is basically a goth, and can be kind of bitchy, but he’s not… Unnervingly awkward, the way Connor is. 

Eventually, he shakes his head. “The sound of his voice makes my head hurt. When Chef Ramsay yells, it’s… nice.” He shrugs, bringing his legs up into the chair with him and resting his chin on his knees. “I like, um, Cupcake Wars, too.”

“I’m very behind on that,” Bless Gavin’s heart for trying. “Isn’t the host the Mean Girls guy?”

Connor doesn’t answer. He goes back to staring out at the water.

Everyone aside from Connor helps clean up in relative quiet, all tired from the days trip. Gavin keeps yawning, pulling on Niles’ arm as he extinguishes the lanterns’ fire. They retire to their rooms, and Tina can’t help but feel a little uneasy. Connor’s door is already shut, and she stares at it until Niles and Gavin disappear into the master suite.

Tina sleeps for awhile, not dreaming of anything. At some point, she wakes up, padding down the hallway to the bathroom. A door creaks, and she jumps, glaring down the hallway at the culprit.

Connor stares at her for a long time, frozen where he stands. She blinks, unsure what to do, hands shaking absently by her sides.

Slowly, Connor turns, walking down the hall to his own room and shutting the door behind him with a soft click.

He came out of Niles and Gavin’s room.

Tina wonders what he was doing in there.

  
  
  
  
  


_ Show me before you haunt me on the screen. Will my affection pull the strings? Another forgotten memory. _

  
  
  
  
  


Connor can’t sleep.

He’s trying, he really is. He shuts his eyes, folds his arms over his stomach, pretends to count sheep, whatever that means. Connor is trying, but he can’t.

And, of course, he knows why.

Usually, it takes a bit for Connor to fall asleep. He doesn’t get off work until one in the morning, so he has a nice glass of wine, jerks off vigorously to some nondescript baking compilations on YouTube, and then he’s out cold. So, there are a lot of things keeping him from sleeping now.

It’s too early. He thinks it’s around eleven? He can’t really tell without reaching for his phone, but that would make it even harder to sleep. The only drink Tina has in this godforsaken house is  _ beer,  _ which Connor hates. And, he doesn’t feel comfortable enough to jack it in a stranger’s bed. Not while he’s alone like this.

This is stupid, he should just… Just go to sleep. He’s been able to sleep without all of those things before, hasn’t he? Connor racks his brain, trying to figure out what could be missing. What other things tire him out so he can-

Oh. Niles.

_ Niles! Of course! _

Connor sits upright, head spinning from the quickness of the action. Damn, he should’ve taken those iron supplements before he left the house this morning. No matter, Connor is going to go get Niles.

Gavin. Shit. Connor hates Gavin, he always gets in the way of things. Connor can’t go get Niles if Gavin’s stupid self is sprawled out on the bed. Swiftly, Connor fumbles for his phone, blinking in the harsh light and immediately turning the brightness down.

11:54pm. He was close, at least.

He pauses briefly, considering whether or not he should bother Niles. One things for sure, Connor hates when Niles is angry at him. Maybe he won’t be, maybe Connor will be lucky this time. He opens the text app.

>are you awake?

He waits. Not long passes.

_ <yes. _

Connor considers what he should say, ready to type out a random question to make it seem like he’s just bored, but stops when he sees the small dots, moving in rhythm. Niles is typing. 

_ <can you not sleep? _

>no…

A minute passes. Connor gets worried. 

_ <neither can i. come here. _

Yes.  _ Yes!  _ God, Connor loves when Niles knows exactly how Connor’s feeling!

Connor gets out of bed, socked feet hitting the wood floor quietly. He’s slow opening the creaky door and tiptoes down the hall as quickly as he can. Past the bathroom, past Tina’s room, all the way to the master suite, slipping inside and blinking in the darkness.

Niles is on his phone, but sets it down, seeing Connor. He smiles, scooting over on the bed towards the middle, making room. Connor takes a step, but there’s a snore. Gavin. He’s lying on his stomach, one arm hanging off the bed. Connor stills, and Niles shrugs. “Don’t worry, he’s drunk.”

“He had two beers.”

Though Connor whispers, Niles talks at a normal volume. “Yeah, and he’s a lightweight. He’s literally out cold.”

Connor smiles, then, moving quietly to climb into bed. It’s a king, and, despite Niles’ size, there’s still a considerable amount of space between Niles and Gavin, who keeps sleeping, despite the creak of the bed springs.

To Connor’s surprise, Niles isn’t awkward the way he usually is, and he struggles to keep from gasping as Niles’ hand immediately finds the front of Connor’s boxers, squeezing tight. “Niles-”

“Shh,” Niles rolls onto his side, fingers working their way under the band around Connor’s hips, slipping inside. Connor bites his lip. Niles’ hands are cold, especially so against his cock this way. He gives a few, testing pumps, keeping his hand under the fabric of his boxers, until Connor is fully hard, his face already hot. 

Yeah, jerking off would have been weird in someone else’s bed, but this is fine somehow.

Sometimes, Connor doesn’t understand his own brain.

Niles reaches past Connor, to the nightstand, grabbing the small bottle of lube and immediately adding some to his hand. Connor runs his hands over Niles’ chest, smiling softly.

This is what Connor likes. Niles like this.

Sometimes Niles ignores him, favoring Gavin instead, but at least Connor can be sure who Niles really loves. Gavin is just some formality. A label that Niles can flaunt around. But this, the connection between him and Connor is real.

Distracted, Connor jumps a little when Niles pulls on his boxers again, and he raises his hips to let Niles slip them off. It’s easy enough for his legs to fall open, and before Connor even realizes, Niles is pressing a finger inside of him. Connor gasps, hands balling into tight fists against Niles’ chest. He’s quick about it, like he usually is, jamming another finger inside and scissoring them apart, spreading Connor open.

Connor shuts his eyes, lip worried between his teeth. Niles smells nice. He must have showered. Maybe he’s using a new soap. It works well against his skin.

“Concon,” Niles whispers, leaning down to bite Connor’s neck, snapping him out of it. When Connor nods, Niles pulls his fingers free, grabbing Connor’s hips and moving to lie on his back, pulling Connor with him.

It’s hard for Connor not to glance down at Gavin while he shoves the front of Niles’ pajama bottoms down, gasping softly as his cock springs free. 

Poor, stupid Gavin. He wouldn’t know that Niles doesn’t really love him, even if Niles said,  _ ‘I don’t love you’  _ to his face.

Niles’ fingers, still wet, immediately intrude Connor’s mouth, keeping him quiet as Connor slides down on his cock. Connor can’t help but bite down on Niles’ hand. God, this is going to be hard. Connor is loud, incredibly so, and, with Gavin still snoring beside them, this is proving to be difficult.

But, it’s hot, too. So fucking hot.

Niles’ fingers press down against Connor’s tongue, sufficiently making Connor gag. His other hand is firm against Connor’s hip, giving Connor a second to adjust to being stretched around his cock. His eyes are piercing, blue fire watching Connor, encouraging him to move.

Connor does, and has to bite down on Niles’ fingers a little harder. The angle isn’t great, not yet, but Connor takes his time, slow, quiet. He rolls his hips, pausing when the bed squeaks, glancing down at Gavin to make sure he’s still sleeping. Niles pinches Connor’s thigh, and he keeps going, gently raising his hips up and slowly sliding back down.

He leans forward, bracing his hands against Niles’ chest. He looks good like this, his hair messy from the pillow behind him, his collarbone shining with the tiniest bit of sweat. Connor moves his hands, finding the metal bar through one of Niles’ nipples to hold onto, to feel with his fingers.

It’s cold, when compared to the rest of Niles’ skin.

He arches his back, moaning around Niles’ fingers as he hits his prostate dead on, stilling his hips and enjoying the blunt feeling of Niles pressed up against it. Niles grows impatient, thank  _ God,  _ and pulls his fingers out of Connor’s mouth, wrapping both hands around Connor’s hips.

Connor has to cover his own mouth as Niles lifts him up and pulls him back down, fucking Connor at a faster pace without moving his hips. It’s hard for Connor to balance, to stay upright, his limbs going numb. Somehow, his mouth tastes salty, metallic. He keeps his mouth shut tight, pushing his tongue back as far as he can to keep himself from making noise. 

It’s difficult, especially when Connor shuts his eyes and imagines all those times when he could be loud. When he could scream Niles’ name and beg for him to go harder, faster. Oh, fuck, Connor’s moaning again. Gavin is still asleep. How is he still asleep? There’s no way they won’t get caught like this. No way Gavin won’t wake up.

But, he doesn’t. Niles comes inside of Connor, slowing to a stop. Connor stares down at him, watching the rise and fall of his chest as he relaxes, as he calms down. Then, at the way the muscles in his biceps twitch as he reaches forward to grip Connor’s cock again, squeezing almost too tight as he jerks him off.

Connor comes on Niles’ stomach. They don’t move for awhile, staring at each other, breathing heavy. Connor can feel Niles soften inside of him, he can hear Niles’ heart beating.

Niles reaches up to wipe sweat from his forehead, and winces.

His knuckles are bloody.  _ What? _

He shoves Connor off of him, sitting upright. Connor stands, instead of lying in bed, in order to try and see why he’s bleeding. Niles tucks his cock back into his pajamas, before wiping the blood from his hand off on Connor’s boxers and handing them back.

The teeth marks on Niles’ knuckles are prominent, even in the dark room.

The salt taste starts to make sense now.

Connor exits the room quietly once his boxers cover his hips once more, shutting the door behind him. There’s a light in the hallway that wasn’t there before, and it makes Connor freeze, like a deer in headlights.

Tina is standing in the doorway of the bathroom, her eyes wide.

They watch each other for a long time, so long that Connor can hear Niles’ come drip down onto the wood floor. That’s bad. That’s  _ bad.  _ Connor straightens, keeping his head high as he walks past Tina to his room, shutting the door as quickly as he can.

He doesn’t clean himself up, just collapses into bed.

It’s not hard to fall asleep anymore.

When he wakes up, there’s music in the house. Some beachy shit that Connor can’t stand. He rolls over, about to snuggle deeper into the blankets before he feels his thighs stick together. They’re chaffed. Painful.

It takes a second for him to stand upright, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and rummaging around in his bag, finding some clean clothes and underwear, his toothbrush. He’s quiet when he opens the door, glancing out into the hallway and listening to what he can.

Sounds like all of the others are in the kitchen. Good. Connor can hear Niles laugh at something Tina says, and can just make out the outline of Gavin’s stupid, giant head. 

Connor quickly dashes to the bathroom, gasping a little upon seeing his own reflection.

The inside of his thighs are bright red, likely sore from rubbing together as he slept. There’s a bruise on his neck,  _ perfect,  _ which would make Connor happy. He loves when Niles marks him up, makes him know who he belongs to, but it’s not ideal right now. What if Gavin sees it? 

There’s blood in the corner of his mouth, and when Connor opens it, his teeth are stained red, his whole mouth still salty and terrible smelling. Connor sighs, stripping out his boxers and turning on the shower.

He has to sit on the floor while he washes away blood and dried come. His legs are too weak to stand.

  
  
  
  
  


_ We've built this city that we're sinking in. Nobody wants to play pretend. I just know that. _

  
  
  
  
  


The music is airy, especially when compared to the rock Gavin usually listens to, and adds a soft aura of pleasantness to the room that sticks. He smiles wide as Niles sets a plate of breakfast down in front of him, inhaling the scent of syrup and bacon. Gavin waits before eating, watching Niles and Tina chat softly in front of him, plating pancakes and cracking jokes.

It’s surreal. Gavin never expected them to get along.

Sure, they pretended to like each other, but they weren’t very good at it. Tina is a bad liar and Niles has a very telling sneer that only appears when he says Tina’s name with distaste. Watching them now, as Tina wipes a bit of flour off on Niles’ nose, it’s almost like they’re a family.

_ Family. _

There’s that word again. Gavin doesn’t really like it. It feels fitting, for him and Niles, at least. His dad left when he was young and his mom passed not too long after Gavin finished college. But, for Niles, family can mean Gavin, sure, but mostly it means his brother.

Connor still isn’t up yet. Gavin wonders what pissed him off yesterday.

He really wants Connor to approve of him. Gavin  _ needs _ to ask Connor before he asks Niles to marry him, he can’t help but be old fashioned. He needs permission from someone who cares about Niles’ well being, and because Niles isn’t close with his adoptive mother anymore, that, unfortunately, leaves Connor.

Gavin pokes at his pancakes with a fork, trying to think of ways he can schmooze Connor into changing his mind.

Tina takes the seat beside Gavin at the breakfast bar, leaving Niles to stand on the other side of it, holding his plate with one hand and a fork in the other.

Gavin watches him, smiling, eyes landing on his big hands. God, Gavin loves his hands. There’s a ring around the second set of knuckles on each finger, dark and bruised, scabbed over. It definitely wasn’t there before. “Shit, Ni, you okay?” Gavin reaches out, trying to touch Niles’ knuckles. 

“Yeah,” Niles shrugs. “Cut it on something in the shower.” Yeah, maybe Gavin just didn’t notice them yesterday. But...

They look like teeth marks.

Gavin knows about what Niles does in his free time, what the key around his neck means to him. He’s known since he first snooped around in Niles’ house, trying to find evidence for Tina. How many people Niles drags down into the basement, Gavin has no clue, but he knows better than to ask. Part of him thinks that Niles  _ knows _ that Gavin knows, but he hasn’t said anything either. Maybe, when Gavin proposes, Niles will let him in all the way. He’ll tell Gavin everything.

_ Cut it on something in the shower,  _ yeah right. Someone probably tried to fight back.

That makes Gavin a little sick to his stomach.

Connor joins them shortly after, in smaller shorts than yesterday and a soft yellow t-shirt. He stands beside Niles, eating pancakes quietly. It’s a little awkward at first, so Gavin tries to break the silence. “Good morning.”

“Hmm,” Connor watches Gavin, like he always does, eyes a little too wide, jaw a little too set. Slowly, he grins. That same, unnerving grin that always makes Gavin’s hair stand on end. “Good morning, Gavin.”

He tips his head, exposing a hickey on his neck. Was that there yesterday? Gavin thinks he’s losing his mind.

Tina claps her hands together, talking around a mouthful of bacon. “Alright, boys, I wanna get in the water, so I’m heading out there.” She stands, pausing after she puts her plate in the sink. “Niles, you wanna come with?”

Niles blinks, a little taken aback. “Oh. I don’t know how to swim.”

“Neither do I,” Tina smirks, glancing in between Gavin and Connor. Gavin catches her implication, she’s giving Gavin a chance to spend time with him. “But we can go walk down the beach at least, it’s a beautiful morning.”

“Alright,” Niles follows suit, placing his plate in the sink and patting Connor’s shoulder before leaning down to press a kiss to Gavin’s temple. 

Now, Gavin is alone with Connor. Weird.

Connor leaves his plate on the counter, pancakes mostly untouched, and flops down onto the couch, laying his long legs out onto the coffee table. He folds his hands over his stomach, staring up at the ceiling. 

Even more unnerving. God, Gavin’s already nervous. As much as Gavin loves Niles, Connor is fucking freaky. He’s quiet and twitchy, and he’s always staring. He acts like he knows something that Gavin doesn’t, like he’s keeping a million secrets all at once, and it’s strange.

Though. when Gavin considers this, he probably is keeping a million secrets. Hell, he’s close with Niles, he probably knows about the basement, maybe he even helps out. God, as much as he hates to admit it, Gavin would kill to see Niles in action, covered in blood, a wicked smile plastered on his face.

Gavin has to remind himself to focus, and slowly, he makes his way over to the couch to sit on the opposite end. Connor doesn’t notice, or at least, he doesn’t acknowledge him. “Hey.” Connor doesn’t answer, Gavin pushes. “We could do somethin’ if you’re bored. Like, there’s a TV in mine and Ni’s room, we could watch somethin’ with that chef you like. Or, I don’t know, maybe there’s board games in the house or-”

“Please,” Connor doesn’t turn his attention away from the ceiling. “Don’t try and be my friend, Fucktoy.”

_ Fucktoy. _

Sometimes Gavin can’t hide how much that hurts him.

He pushes it down, pressing again. “I’m not. I’m just sayin’, there’s no reason we should both be bored out our fuckin’ minds.”

Connor doesn’t answer. Gavin goes to the back porch. 

He watches Niles and Tina instead, feeling the warm breeze on his skin, smiling as Niles splashes Tina with water. They both laugh. Gavin’s heart feels full. 

It doesn’t take long for them to return, and before Gavin knows it, they’re playing impromptu volleyball. There’s an old net, and a ball that doesn’t have nearly enough air, but they toss the ball back and forth regardless. At some point, Connor moves to the porch, scrolling through his phone as he sits at the small table under the umbrella. 

Gavin really wishes he’d come play with them, and invites him thrice before giving up. 

When the sun starts to set, Tina gathers all of the things they need for a proper bonfire. They bring the bluetooth speaker and a few chairs and blankets. Tina even busts into her parents’ liquor cabinet to get some harder drinks, dropping them in the cooler with the rest of her beer.

They eat, just some simple sandwiches that Niles whipped together, and once the fire is roaring, Tina tries her hand at telling scary stories. They aren’t that scary, but Gavin loves the excuse to curl up next to Niles in their spot, pulling the blanket up to his chin and nuzzling his head against Niles’ shoulder.

Niles critiques Tina’s ghost story pretty harshly, but when she asks if he can do better, he says his whole life is a scary story.

She throws a chunk of sand at them, separating them from their close position as Niles launches out of the chair to hurl sand right back at her. Tina sets her beer down, kicking Gavin’s foot and nodding to Connor as Niles has his back turned.

Tina’s great. She’s giving him another chance to talk to Connor.

Gavin doubts he’ll get anywhere, especially not if he’s just his usual self. So, he works up some courage, tries to seem brave and cocky, and plops down in Tina’s chair. Connor, wrapped in a blanket, is nursing a bottle of wine. It’s mostly empty. “Why don’t you like me?”

Connor blinks, as if unsure who’s talking to him. Gavin notices that his glasses are crooked, and it takes every bit of self restraint not to reach out and fix them. Connor finally responds. “What? Oh, Gavin. Hey. What?”

“Why don’t you like me?” Gavin repeats, squaring his shoulders. “I just, I’ve been tryin’ all weekend to include you in shit an’ you jus’ keep pushin’ me away. Why’d you do that?” Connor stays quiet, raising the wine bottle to his lips. “Like, I guess it must be somethin’ to do with ya parents, right? Like, somethin’ that fucked you up?”

Connor sits upright, his lips pulled into a tight frown. Gavin is so used to him smiling. This is much worse. Creepier, even. “What?”

“Uh… I mean…” Gavin sputters. “Just, because-”

“Because what?” Connor’s voice cracks. “Did Niles tell you about that?”

Oh.  _ Oh. _ Does Connor not know that Gavin knows what happened to their parents? “Um. I mean, yeah, kind of. I didn’t ask him for details or nothin’, but I know the gist of it.” Connor watches Gavin for a moment, and for a second it feels normal again. Back to Connor’s weird staring thing.

Then, his shoulders droop, and he chokes out a sob.

He’s crying.

“Of course he told you.” Connor’s voice is shaky, and he holds the wine bottle close to his chest, like some kind of security. His cheeks are flushed now, tears streaming towards his chin and Gavin doesn’t know what to do here. Should he offer a hug? “You really wanna know why I don’t like you?” Gavin nods. “Niles talks to  _ you.” _

“What?”

“He tells you  _ everything.” _ Connor shakes his head, once, twice. “You know that he hasn’t even  _ mentioned _ our parents to me in the last five years?” Gavin clenches his jaw. He didn’t know that. “Isn’t it just… awesome, that he doesn’t even talk to me, but he just casually mentions what happened to us to whoever’s willing to fuck him.”

Connor sniffs. Gavin  _ really _ doesn’t know what to do here. “Do you have,” Connor continues, voice still shaky and his grip tightening around the bottle’s neck. “Any idea what it’s like to go through something terrible, but the one person who was there with you. The  _ only person _ who understands what it’s like, won’t fucking talk to you about it?”

He doesn’t continue. Gavin shakes his head.

“Exactly. You don’t know what it’s like. You don’t know how it feels to listen to your brother, the only person you love, who knows what happened to you, talk to someone else about it. I’ve heard him talk to therapists, and to  _ you,”  _ Connor spits, sobs turning into growls. “But if I so much as ask him if he’s okay, he tells me to drop it.

“And I just… I get so fucking jealous, you know? Like, we used to only have each other. He didn’t have anyone else, so we’d always hang out or do stuff together. But then he met  _ you,  _ and suddenly, he doesn’t need me anymore. He has someone else to entertain him and I’m left by my fucking self.”

Gavin swallows. This isn’t how he thought the conversation would go, but still, he tries to be comforting. “Connor,”

“And it makes me an asshole, right? Like I’m his stupid, clingy, weird brother, just because I miss spending time with him. Like, I’m selfish just because I want him to-” He sobs again, crying harder. “To love me.

“You know why I’m so mean to you, Gavin? I keep thinking that maybe if I piss you off enough, you’ll insult me, or hit me. I’m a good actor, I can cry on command. I could milk it and act like this pathetic idiot just so Niles would dump you for hurting me. Because I’ve convinced myself that he doesn’t care about you. It’s easier for me to be mean to you if I keep telling myself that he’s just using you anyway, so it doesn’t matter.

“God! And you know what’s funny about it? I still love him, no matter how badly he treats me, or uses me. Every fucking time he wants me, I go crawling back to him just so we can-” Connor stops himself, covering his mouth. “Sorry. You probably shouldn’t hear that from me.”

Gavin sits upright, shoulders tense. “Hear what?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Connor shrugs, sinking down further in his chair and wiping his eyes.

“No, seriously,” Gavin leans forward, trying to seem inviting. “You can tell me.”

“You’ll be mad. At me, and Niles.”

Not really sure what he means by that, Gavin shakes his head. “No, I won’t. I could never.”

Connor sneers, laughing a little. “God, you’re stupid.”

“What?”

“I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised that you don’t know, I guess.” Does he mean the basement? Gavin can’t tell. “Especially since you think you’re the only person Niles is fucking.”

_ What. The fuck. _

“What are you talkin’ about? Ni and I are-”

“What, dating?” Connor laughs. “You think that means anything to him? You’re a distraction. A label. Something for him to fuck when he doesn’t have anything better to do. Every single time you fall asleep, you miss a call, a text, cancel a date, whatever, he comes crawling right back to the person he  _ actually  _ cares about. The only person he really wants.”

Gavin takes a breath. It feels like he’s holding it in. “Who?”

_ “Me.” _

The music stopped playing a long time ago. Niles and Tina are further down the beach. The only sound besides Gavin’s beating heart is the crackling fire.

“What, you seriously didn’t know? Oh my God, yeah, you’re so dumb.” Connor laughs. “You want me to sit here and tell you about how often Niles bends me over, fucks me anytime he doesn’t want you?” Gavin’s throat feels tight. “You wanna know all about how loud I scream and beg for him, pleading for him to go  _ harder, Daddy, harder.” _

He moans the last bit. Gavin feels sick. “How Niles loves being balls deep inside of me, because you’re so unsatisfying that he would rather fuck his own brother than you?” Connor tips his head. The bruise. It’s darker now. “He gave me this last night, while I rode him on your bed. You slept soundly right beside us.

“You know, it’s funny that you didn’t hear. I can get, oh- ah! So, so loud for daddy.” 

Gavin stares at the bruise for a long time, unsure what to think. His brain feels empty, even as he processes what Connor said, watching Connor down the rest of the wine. 

Eventually, Connor stands, punching Gavin’s shoulder. “God, the look on your face right now is priceless.” He drops the empty bottle in Gavin’s lap. “I’m drunk and weird, you idiot. Don’t take anything I say seriously.”

Oh.

_ Oh. _

Connor was joking. Hah.  _ Hah. _

Gavin forces himself to laugh, embarrassed for falling for it. Connor may be  _ strange as all fuck,  _ but at least he’s cracking jokes, albeit incredibly fucked up ones. That’s progress, right?

“I’m going to bed,” Connor stumbles a bit, past the fire pit. “Seriously, Gavin, learn to take a joke, God. It’s not like I said we’re The Butcher or anything.”

The Butcher.

Gavin watches him retreat into the house. But, Niles  _ is  _ The Butcher, Gavin knows that’s true, he’s seen the basement.

Maybe Connor wasn’t really joking, after all.

  
  
  
  
  


_ I'm feeling like we've just begun. Nothing's ever good enough. Tenderness is all I've got. _

  
  
  
  
  


The skin on Gavin’s neck is salty against Niles’ tongue, slowly gaining heat as Niles bites into it. Gavin arches against him, spine curving upwards to press his chest against Niles’. His hands fist themselves into Niles’ hair, pulling him back so he can see him properly.

Niles watches him, wondering why Gavin is so keen on staring at his face tonight. Still, he smiles, a little breathless, yanking hard on the front of Gavin’s shirt to kiss him, teeth clicking together with reckless abandon. Gavin laughs, returning Niles’ kiss, a bit softer, nuzzling his nose against Niles’ cheek.

Footsteps. Tina. “Hey, can y’all shut the door or something? Jesus.” She gets her hand on the doorknob, eyes darting around the bedroom.

Gavin stays leaned against the wall, Niles keeps his arms on either side of his head, caving him in. “Sorry, Teen,” Gavin mumbles, still laughing. “I’m drunk.”

“No you’re not,” Tina huffs out, glaring at Niles with dark eyes.

Niles doesn’t like how judgemental she is.

“Whatever, just be quiet.” Tina pulls the door shut, and her footsteps slowly disappear down the hallway.

Gavin tries to sidestep, but Niles stops him, grabbing Gavin’s torso and tossing him onto the bed. He’s on top of him in seconds, pressing him down into the mattress, fingers pulling on the bottom of Gavin’s shirt until he raises his arms, allowing Niles to pull it clean off.

He smiles down at Gavin’s torso, running his fingers over the harsh lines of his abdomen, feeling the hair on his chest. “Ni, can I ask you somethin’?”

Niles blinks, a little taken aback in his state of lusted haze. “Hmm? Sure, what’s up?”

Gavin bites his lip, an action that is  _ oh so delicious, _ distracting Niles the tiniest bit. He keeps his hands firm on Gavin’s pectorals, refraining from leaning forward to get a bite of Gavin’s lip for himself.

Though he hesitates, Gavin still asks. “Do you want me to call you  _ Daddy?” _

What.

“What?” Niles asks, brow furrowing together.

“Like, in like, a sexy way,” Gavin shrugs, his face bright red. “When we’re doin’ stuff like this.”

Niles won’t lie, that’s definitely a turn on. But, instead of saying so and moving on, he pries a little. He knows Gavin wouldn’t ask something like this without something else on his mind. “Why do you ask?”

Gavin shrugs again. He’s being impassive. “Just… I thought maybe it could spice things up? Like, I just…” He sighs, awkward. “I wanna make sure you’re like, satisfied with me.”

Raising an eyebrow, Niles purses his lips and adjusts the position of his knees around Gavin’s hips. “Satisfied with you? Gav, you know I love you.”

That makes Gavin smile a bit, shutting his eyes. “Yeah, I know.” He shakes his head. “I don’t know. It’s stupid.”

“Not it’s not.” Niles brushes a piece of hair off of Gavin’s forehead, watching him closely. “What makes you think I’m not satisfied with you?”

Gavin shrugs again, and it takes a lot of soothing to make Gavin finally mutter his meaning. “Connor said somethin’ earlier, that’s all.”

Niles sits upright, rolling his eyes. “Gav, you know how Connor can be sometimes. I’m sure he was just being mean.” He runs his thumb down Gavin’s nose, over his lips. “What did he say?”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Obviously, it is, since it made you insecure about our sex life.” Gavin shuts up on that one. Niles is very good at piecing together Gavin’s self conscious drabble into something he can actually talk about. “What did he say?”

Sighing, Gavin shuts his eyes. “It’s dumb. And, it was a joke, so I don’t know why I’m like, dwellin’ on it. I’m just overreactin’. But, uh, he said some stuff about you using me-”

“I’m not.”

“And uh, like, how you’re cheatin’ on me because I’m not good enough for you.”

Niles sighs again. Honestly, he doesn’t want to have this conversation now. Yes, that sounds exactly like some shit Connor would say to get a rise out of Gavin, but couldn’t this wait until later? Niles was really looking forward to fucking Gavin until he can’t walk right.

“Not good enough for me? Gavin, I love you. Just because Connor doesn’t like you, or feels threatened by you or whatever, doesn’t mean I love you any less.” He leans forward, pressing a kiss to Gavin’s temple. “Are we okay now?”  _ Can we get back to making out,  _ goes unsaid. Niles hopes the point gets across.

“Yeah,” Gavin scrunches his nose. “Er- well, here’s the thing.” God damn it. “I think we should, like, talk? About Connor? I don’t think he’s uh… all up there.” He gestures to his head.

The implication that Connor is crazy doesn’t go unnoticed. It kind of pisses Niles off, but he doesn’t comment on it. He tries to remain passive. “Okay…”

“It’s just… He made this joke. And, I’m pretty sure it’s a joke, but it was weirdly specific, and it didn’t really sit right with me, and-”

“What was the joke?” Niles is already tired of this conversation.

His change of tone makes Gavin blurt a lot of words at once, and it takes Niles a second to fully comprehend what he says. “Basically, he said you were cheatin’ on me because you cared about someone else more than me and when I asked him who it was he said it was him. And he went on for awhile about how you would fuck him and he would call you daddy and how you gave him that massive hickey on his neck last night while I was sleepin’ next to you.”

Niles blinks. Hmm. Not a joke. “He said that?” Gavin nods. “And that sat wrong with you… why?”

“Uh, it’s fuckin’ weird, Ni.” Gavin laughs, still awkward. “Like, okay it’s one thing to joke that my boyfriend is cheatin’ on me, it’s another to joke about incest.”

“Incest,” Niles repeats, swallowing hard. “Who said anything about incest?”

“Connor did.” Gavin narrows his eyes. “He said that you fucked him.”

That’s not incest. Maybe Gavin should use a dictionary or something because that’s not incest. Nor is it cheating. Niles is so done with this conversation. “That’s not incest.”

“What? Ni, are you serious?” Gavin sits up, pushing Niles out of his lap. God  _ damn  _ it, Niles just wanted to fuck, not get a lecture about something Gavin clearly knows nothing about. “Any relationship between people who are related is incest, and that’s what he was jokin’ about.”

“Fucking isn’t a relationship.” Niles shocks himself with that, and he and Gavin watch each other for a second before, “Not that Connor and I are- Like, yes that’s a strange joke. I don’t know where he got that from, but-”

“Ni, do you really not know what incest is?”

“No, I know what it is, it’s just not that.”

“That’s  _ exactly  _ what incest is. And why I’m freakin’ out, ‘cause why the fuck would he joke about that?”

Niles sighs, rubbing his temple. “Because Connor is weird. Look, just… I love you, I’m not cheating on you, you’re not unsatisfying in bed.”

“Right, yeah.” Gavin shakes his head, dismissing their whole argument. “Okay, right. Sorry for bringin’ it up.” He trails off, glancing down at his hands, before “Um,  _ do  _ you want me to call you that, though?”

Oh, right. The question he asked. “Let’s just play it by ear, okay?”

“Okay.”

God damn Connor. God damn Gavin. Niles kisses him, a little harder than he probably should. Gavin’s mouth tastes like whiskey and cigarettes, something Niles really loves. He jams his knee in between Gavin’s legs, smiling when Gavin yelps into his mouth. 

Niles feels angry. Not at Gavin, but at Connor. Who the hell does he think he is, telling Gavin all of their secrets? Jesus, it’s like Niles can’t even get his dick wet without some weird consequences. Everything comes back to bite him in the ass, but it’s literally not Niles’ fault.

God, he can’t do anything.

He’s quick about getting Gavin’s jeans off, and it takes a lot of restraint on Niles’ part not to rip his boxers off, too He sits back on his haunches, letting Gavin slide them off as he pulls off his own shirt, smacking Gavin’s hands away when he reaches to graze Niles’ nipples. “Ni, you okay?”

“Mm,” Niles shoves his hand into Gavin’s mouth, forcing fingers down his throat and listening to him gag. “I’m great.”

That’s a lie, he’s not great. Hopefully Gavin will drop it, not pick up on how angry Niles is. He’s usually pretty rough like this, so it’s not like he’s acting any different.

Gavin keeps sucking on Niles’ fingers, swirling his tongue around each one in between harsh sounding coughs and gags. Niles has to fumble for the lube, only pulling his fingers out long enough to get the cap off.

He admires his fingers as he sets the bottle back down, saliva coating them in a nice sheen. It accentuates the teeth marks against his knuckles, already dark and scabbed over. 

Niles loves them. Cuts, bruises, marks, anything possessive. Little reminders of what happened, of who inflicted them. It’s why he leans forward now, sinking his teeth into Gavin’s neck, feeling the way his jugular jumps as he swallows. When Niles pulls back, the teeth marks against Gavin’s skin are dark.

Wet.

Beautiful.

Gavin’s breathing hitches when Niles jams a pointer finger inside of him, not bothering to try and be gentle. There’s no point, Gavin’s used to Niles’ aggressiveness, knows what to expect. He cries out when Niles works his middle finger in beside it, scissoring them outwards. Gavin’s blunt nails dig into Niles’ back, pain spiking up Niles’ spine, to his brain.

God, Niles loves that pain.

Three fingers, and Niles can properly press against Gavin’s prostate, curling his fingers upwards until he finds the spot that makes Gavin whine. Niles leans down, pressing his lips to Gavin’s ear, dragging his teeth along his earlobe. “Yeah, you can call me Daddy.”

Gavin’s legs twitch, knocking against Niles’ thighs, in time with Gavin’s eyelids squeezing shut. “Okay,” Niles covers Gavin’s mouth with his own, kissing him softly, letting him adjust before he curls his fingers again. “Oh,  _ Daddy.” _

Niles can taste the word on his tongue, relishing in the praise as it coats his mouth, filling him with pride. Gavin’s obedient. Always has been. 

Niles loves him.

The grip on his shoulders grows tighter, probably breaking the skin. Gavin knows better than to touch himself without Niles’ permission, but that doesn’t stop him from getting his hands on anything he can. Digging his nails into Niles’ skin to distract himself from his own wants.

Niles hisses, pulling his fingers free from Gavin’s ass and pulling in his hips, silently instructing for Gavin to move. Gavin complies, knows how to read Niles’ silent commands, finding a comfortable spot on his hands and knees, arching his back.

There’s footsteps somewhere, probably Tina again. Niles ignores them, wiping his hand on the bedspread before falling back to struggle with his jeans. God, Niles has to start wearing sweatpants or something. Getting out of skinny jeans while he’s  _ this _ fucking hard is starting to annoy him.

Jeans on the floor, Niles’ hands go for his boxers, almost finally free before-

A knock.

“Ni?”

The door opens, Gavin flips over onto his back, pulling his knees up to hide his cock. Niles blinks, hands still on his boxers, frozen.

Connor peaks around the door, lip between his teeth. “I was thinking, maybe we could-” He pauses, blinking slowly. His jaw ticks, mouth open. “Um. I’m sorry. I didn’t. Oh, I’ll um. I’m. Okay.” 

He turns, shuts the door a little harder than is probably necessary.

He’s mad.

_ Motherfucker. _

Gavin covers his face with his hands, groaning loudly. “Oh my god. Oh my  _ god.” _

Niles stands, wincing at the cold wood as it touches his bare feet. “Wait here.”

“What? Ni,”

“I’ll talk to him, hang on.”

He doesn’t bother waiting for Gavin to respond, stepping into the dark hallway and shutting the bedroom door.

The light is off in Connor’s room, and Niles considers going to look for him. But, he spots the light coming from under the bathroom door, and sighs, mentally preparing himself for Connor’s berating.

He’s either going to be jealous, or mean. Connor’s walked in on Niles kissing Gavin before, but never on something like this. He’s going to lash out, Niles knows he is. It’s better to calm him down now, before he tries something.

Niles wouldn’t put it past Connor to hurt Gavin, try to kill him.

The door isn’t locked. Niles doesn’t bother knocking.

Connor is sitting on the floor, his back against the cabinet under the sink, his knees pulled up to his chest. Niles closes the door, sighing and watching Connor for a long time. “Concon.”

“Go away.”

“Don’t be a baby,” Niles rolls his eyes. “What did you need? I’m sorry you walked in on that.” Connor doesn’t look up at him, keeping his eyes on a spot on the tiled floor. “Connor Elias.”

“What?” Connor laughs, shaking his head. “It’s not a big deal, don’t worry about it.” Niles waits for him to continue, his breathing still heavy from before. “I’m fine.”

Niles repeats himself. “What did you need? You came to see me for something.” Connor shrugs.

He doesn’t answer until Niles clears his throat. “I was just… gonna see if you wanted to- uh. Because Gavin seemed drunk again. So, I thought maybe you and I could. Uh-” He doesn’t say it out loud, but Niles catches his implication.

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah,” Connor shrugs. “It’s okay. I know that Gavin is… Or, I know that you both-” He stops himself, like admitting that Niles and Gavin have an intimate relationship would hurt him. 

Niles didn’t even consider that Connor tries not to imagine him with Gavin. It seems like second nature to Niles. Normal. “Are you okay?”

Connor sniffs. He’s crying.

Niles grabs his forearm, pulling him to his feet, not letting him mope on the floor. If this is the only way he can cheer Connor up, fine. Niles doesn’t mind, he likes it, if he’s honest.

Gavin is wonderful, but being with Connor is familiar.

Safe.

His hand is still mostly slick, but he spits into it for good measure before plunging it into Connor’s pajama bottoms, immediately wrapping his fingers around Connor’s cock. Connor moans, hips falling backwards to lean against the sink, shutting his eyes tight.

Niles reaches up with his free hand to wipe tears from Connor’s cheeks, working Connor’s cock until it’s hard, precome leaking from the tip. He runs his thumb against it, listening to Connor’s breathing as it quickens.

He frees his hand, pulling Connor’s pajamas and boxers to the floor, watching how he shivers when exposed to the cold room. Niles takes Connor’s hands, guiding them towards his cock before Niles drops to his knees. Connor’s eyes light up.

Niles presses one soft kiss to the tip, tasting the precome as it coats his lips. He pulls Connor’s hips towards him, pressing Connor’s cock against his chest. One of Connor’s hands finds Niles’ hair, steadying himself as Niles releases his hips. 

Slowly, Niles brings his elbows together, squishing his pectoral muscles with his biceps.

Connor shifts, rolling his hips, lining his cock up until it slots perfectly between them.

It’s been awhile since they’ve done this, but it has a nice way of calming Connor down. Niles knows that fucking him will make Connor more worked up, his mind will work too quickly against him, and he’ll be freaking out even more. But this, letting Connor rut up between Niles’ pecs, seems to clear his mind. He can focus on how he feels, let go of any pent up rage. 

He’ll stop crying, that’s for sure. Niles doesn’t know how to deal with him when he’s crying. Why Connor only calms down when he’s fucking some titties, Niles doesn’t really know, but he’ll let him. 

Connor’s grip in Niles’ hair tightens, his cock sliding up Niles’ chest and making him shiver. He moans, eyes shut tight as he thrusts up again, mouth falling open. He’s not concentrating anymore, and Niles takes a second to squeeze a little tighter around Connor’s cock, just to hear him squeak out, “Fuck, Daddy.”

It takes a bit for him to get a rhythm going, his moans climbing higher and higher in octave until he pauses, coming all over Niles’ chest. He pulls back, releasing Niles’ hair and looking down at him, smiling. 

Niles has to wipe come off his chin with the back of his hand.

Connor joins him on the floor, legs weak from his orgasm, immediately getting his hands into Niles’ boxers, pumping his cock the way he knows will get Niles off quickly. He squeezes the base, drags his fingernails along the underside, presses hard against Niles’ balls.

Niles comes in his hand. In the moment, Niles forgets how he left Gavin.

A beat passes as they catch their breath, Connor wipes his hands off on his discarded pajamas. Niles watches him, eyes narrowed as Connor starts crying again. He’s drunk. “What now?”

“You’re just going to go back there with Gavin.” Connor sniffs, shaking his head. His hands twitch in front of him. “I don’t understand why you put up with him, especially not when you have me. You don’t need him, Ni, I can be enough for you. I love you.”

Niles doesn’t answer. He’s not going to listen to Connor’s stupid, drunken rambling. Slowly, he stands, wiping what he can from his chest. 

Connor grabs his ankle. “Niles, don’t you love me?”

He has to tug his leg to get free, and he chooses to ignore the sound of Connor’s pathetic sobs when he shuts the door.

Niles walks slowly back towards the bedroom, grabbing himself over his boxers, trying to get as hard as he was before. He’s not… _ great  _ at keeping his stamina up after he comes, but he’s going to have to power through it. 

He adjusts himself before stepping back into the bedroom. He can still hear Connor crying.

“Everything okay?” Gavin asks, eyebrows drooping. His gaze catches on Niles’ chest, running his eyes over the red patch between his pecs as he hears Connor in the distance. “Is he crying?”

“Yeah,” Niles shrugs, shoving Gavin back against the bed, grinding his hips down against him. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Oh. Okay,” Gavin sounds unsure. Niles flips him onto his stomach. 

He doesn’t bother checking to see if Gavin is still ready before shoving his boxers down, lining his cock up and shoving inside. Gavin moans, a little louder than Niles’ headache can handle. He dips his head, leaning beside Gavin’s ear. “Shut the fuck up.”

Gavin nods. Good.

Niles presses against the back of Gavin’s neck, holding him in place while he fucks him into the mattress, keeping his thrusts deep, feeling his hip bones dig into Gavin’s ass each time before pulling back. Gavin stays quiet, though he breathes heavily through his nose. Niles can feel himself getting close already.

He stills, pausing to steady his breathing before thrusting back in again. He has to last, for Gavin.

God damn Connor.

Niles gives Gavin the okay to touch himself, guiding his hands, hoping to speed things up as much as he can. 

It doesn’t work. Niles comes with a groan, biting down against Gavin’s shoulder. Quickly, he shoves his hands underneath Gavin, jerking him off as much as his hand will allow. When Gavin finally comes onto the comforter, Niles rolls over onto his back beside him, staring up at the ceiling.

He shuts his eyes.

Fuck, he’s tired.

In the morning, Niles wakes to Gavin packing their things. He’s left clothes out for Niles, but he’s already dressed, showered. His hair is wet, and hangs a little over his forehead. Cute.

“Morning,” Niles mumbles, yawning and trying to climb out of bed.

“Mornin’,” Gavin echoes, closing the zipper on his duffel bag. “Hey, I love you. You know that, right?”

Niles frowns, struggling to find his glasses, knocking things over on the nightstand. “Yeah.”

Gavin holds his glasses out, smiling when Niles takes them. “Okay,” He sounds hesitant. Niles wishes he would just say what’s on his mind. “You know you can tell me anythin’, right?”

“Um, yeah,” Niles wipes his glasses off with his boxers before sliding them onto his nose.

“Alright…” Gavin leans forward, pressing a kiss to Niles’ temple. “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but I just want you to know: you can if you want. I’m here for you.”

Weird.

Very weird.

Gavin steps back, handing Niles a towel for the shower. “Ni?”

“Yes?”

“Look. I don’t… There’s nothin’ you could do that would make me stop lovin’ you. We didn’t really get to talk last night, not like I wanted to. But, you need ta’ know that if you… If you’re cheatin’ on me, I don’t care. I love you anyway.”

Where the fuck did that come from?

“What? Gav, I’m not-”

Gavin shakes his head, continuing to tidy their room up. “I don’t think you think it’s cheatin’. Listen, I know your relationship with Connor is important to you, and I don’t care how you guys… spend your time together. I love you.” He smiles, confusing Niles even more. “Go shower, your chest is all sticky.”

_ Oh. _

Niles doesn’t ever give Gavin enough credit. He’s not as dumb as he looks.

Packing up the car is a bit awkward. Connor isn’t speaking, just quietly putting his things in the trunk before climbing in the back seat. Tina startles Niles, smacking his back before putting her own bag in the car. “Thought I told y’all to be quiet last night.”

Gavin rolls his eyes, taking Niles’ bag and shoving it in beside Tina’s. “We were. Shut up, your room was on the other side of the house.”

“Yeah, from your bedroom.” Tina shrugs, shutting the trunk with a loud click. “But I could hear y’all when you were in the bathroom. Disgusting, really.”

“We weren’t-” Gavin catches himself, glancing up at Niles as Tina walks towards the front of the car, sliding into the driver's seat. “Oh. It’s okay, Ni, really.” Gavin shrugs, planting a kiss on Niles’ cheek. He lowers his voice to make sure Tina can’t hear. “What you two do is none of my business. I don’t mind.” 

Niles stands there for a moment, processing. Eventually, he slides in beside Connor, staring at the back of Gavin’s head. 

Gavin knows.

And, for some reason, he’s okay with it.

Niles isn’t sure how he feels about that.


End file.
